A place to share pictures and information about Japanese vinyl kaiju toys, figures, and collectibles, whether vintage kaiju or neo-kaiju. All kaiju fans are welcome to add their comments, ask questions, or otherwise contribute to the kaiju knowledge base. Enjoy!

What's up with "Ultra Fighting Spirit"? According to the Absolute Ultraman website:

"'Ultra Fight,' an obscure series of satirical five-minute vignettes. The first thirty episodes are fight sequences culled from the original 'Ultraman' series, and are followed by similar footage from 'Ultraseven,' including the banned episode 12 (This information provided by Mark Schultz, who is knowledgeable about a laser disc version of 'Ultra Fight').

Later episodes are of new footage. The real Ultraseven costume from the series does battle with real or shabby replica costumes of various monsters from the past, some of which were originally used in live-action stage shows. The format is usually a human-sized Seven and at least two other monsters, who comically fight it out wrestling-style in some remote locale to no real conclusion, narrated by a professional sports announcer. The show is extremely low-budget, and often uses a hand-held camera. There weren't even any scripts. About ten episodes could be filmed in a day, so 195 were created in all, making this the most prolific of all Ultra series."

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Many thanks to Mark Nagata (Max Toy Co) for providing this image of the Bearmodel Keronia figures from the Hyper Hobby Mook dash 6 (published in 2001). Based on this picture, I suspect (but am still not completely sure) that the figure I have as shown in a prior post is the unpainted green on the far right. Someone must have painted in the eyes and the red mouth.

I would appreciate it if someone could provide the english translation for the Japanese next to the unpainted green figure (as well as next to the other two Keronias).

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

No. It is a Gyango ギャンゴ (aka Gango, Giyango) from Episode 11 of Ultraman ウルトラマン ("The Destroyer [Ruffian] From Outer Space” (1966)). This is by Nostalgic Heroes ノスタルジックヒーローズ, an exclusive edition of 50 done in GID vinyl (reproduction of figure originally by Marusan マルサン). It is about 10.6 inches tall.

ノスタルジックヒーローズ 電動怪獣倶楽部 ギャンゴ(蓄光)。 限定50体 大 きさは約26.5cmです。

From Wikpedia:

"Gyango was a monster from the Ultraman television series. Gyango's origin was one of the more peculiar. The monster started as a semi-sentient meteor that fell to Earth, and was discovered by several school children. The meteor had a symbiotic relationship with sentient beings, attempting to take on the shape and function desired by whomever contacted it or stood closest to it. The children imagined a race car set, a birthday cake, and a piano. But the meteor's form only persisted until a person's mind was distracted, or focused on something else. Hoshino was among the children, and decided it was best to turn the meteor over to Science Patrol Headquarters.

In a press conference, scientists explained the discovery to members of the press, inviting one of them to test the meteor's properties. The reporter imagined a beautiful bride, but as he stepped to take the arm of the bride, the meteor reverted, and in a gag moment, the reporter unwittingly took the arm of a man standing nearby.

Observing all of this was a thief with criminal intentions. The thief left a speaker under a desk in the room where the meteor was being stored, and after everyone had left, he communicated to the meteor from a microphone as he sat in his car in the parking lot. (Apparently the meteor could comprehend English and respond to verbal commands even if the person issuing the commands wasn't present.) The thief instructed the stone to become liquid, and it poured off of the table into a puddle. Then he instructed it to become a rocket, to fly out the window to his location. The meteor reverted, and the man began to make off with it, but he was spotted by Arashi as he gunned his car away. Arashi shot his repulsor gun to hit the button to close the Science patrol gates. The thief's car was damaged, but the thief got away.

In a hotel room later, the thief first came up with the idea of forming a monster out of the meteor, and Gyango formed as a man-sized monster. Gyango had a long colorful neck, hands shaped like c-clamps, and ears that rotated. The thief used Gyango to stage numerous pranks at the hotel. But he then thought to terrorize the city with the monster growing to giant-size. However, this caused damage to the hotel, and the thief was knocked unconscious. Because the thief's last conscious thoughts were on the giant-sized monster, it persisted. Ultraman appeared, and one of the more comic fights of the series ensued. In the end, when the thief was awakened in a hospital, Gyango ceased to exist. Hayata later took the stone from Patrol HQ, stating he would ask Ultraman to take the stone into space. Fuji attempted to follow him out but the door closed on her and we then see Ultraman taking the stone far into space."

Saturday, April 07, 2007

This is Keronia, alias the “plant monstrous beast” or the “sucking bug plant.” Keronia appeared in Episode 31 of the Ultraman ウルトラマン TV series, entitled “Who Has Come?”

Keronia Fun Fact: Ultramans’s “Ultra Attack Beam” (ウルトラアタック光線 Urutora Attakku Kōsen) was a very rare power used only once against Keronia in Episode 31 when the Specium Ray had failed him. What is the “Ultra Attack Beam”? By focusing energy from his left hand into a spiral energy beam around his right arm, then directing the energy at a target creature, Ultraman could induce a temporal stasis, in effect paralyzing the target. [Source: Wikipedia.]

ケロニアは、特撮テレビ番組『ウルトラマン』に登場した架空の怪獣。別名「植物怪獣」。

注意 : 以降に、作品の結末など核心部分が記述されています。

For more info see: http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ケロニア

(I need some help on this one. I have not been able to find any pictures or information about the Bearmodel Keronia in this colorway. This one is green vinyl without any apparent paint on the body, except for the eyes which are painted silver and black, and the mouth which is painted red (appropriate for a blood sucking plant!). I bought it on US eBay from a seller located in Japan – it did not include the bag or header. Does anyone know anything about this version? It has the appropriate markings on the bottom of its feet… Any help would be greatly appreciated!)